"The Island" is this summer's must-see sci-fi action movie

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2005)

Once I saw the online previews, I knew I had to see "The Island". Like other must-see sci favorites such as "Minority Report" and the "Matrix" movies, "The Island" contains several essential elements: 1) a controversial theme that provokes viewers to think and to ask questions; 2) actors and actresses who carry their roles so well that you almost forget who they are aside from the movie; 3) directing that takes you through the story and characters' perspectives from start to finish; 4) action sequences and high-speed chases; 5) some romance and subtle humor; and 6) an icy villain.
The selection and performances of the cast make it difficult to choose just one or two actors to talk about (everyone is exceptional in this movie!), but I'll focus on Ewan McGregor and Sean Bean. McGregor's dual-role performance as Lincoln Six-Echo and Tom Lincoln provides "stay-in-your-seat" moments, and Bean doesn't spare the ice as Dr. Merrick (now on my "favorite villain" list along with Agent Smith of "Matrix" fame).
Everything else--the story, the high-speed action, the unanswered questions, the subtle (and not-so-subtle) humor and irony, and the romantic subplot--make "The Island" this summer's must-see sci-fi action movie. Both "The Island" and "Minority Report" contain the deus-ex-machina device in several scenes, and "The Island" has lots of surprise elements (must see to believe!) Director Michael Bay has done it again with a movie that people will be talking about even after it is available on VHS/DVD.